There are many distinctively different types of accounting jobs in a business. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accountants all have general duties, such as processing financial paperwork and handling financial operations, but there are many specializations within this field of business.
Accounting Coordinator
Accounting coordinators supports the financial functions and administrative operations of their department. They work closely with senior accountants to monitor, review and correct multiple accounts. They perform many combinations of accounting duties, such as assisting in budget preparation or preparing end of the year fiscal reports. They may be in charge of ordering supplies, scheduling financial events or assisting new staff members work with large teams. Their accounting duties often require them to prepare and generate monthly financial reports that track incomes and expenses against budgets. They review and process invoices for payments, handle regular deposits and perform billing duties. They may use accounting databases for charging, crediting and transferring expenses.
Accounting Administrator
Accounting administrators oversee the day-to-day operations of accounting units or departments. They track and reconcile expenses for large client accounts. They also compile statistics and spreadsheets for reporting purposes. For example, they may prepare a report that compares and contrasts contractors for quantity, timing and pricing. They may also compile reports concerning internal supply and equipment orders. Accounting administrators review their subordinate’s work for accuracy before posting to the web or emailing to clients. They perform administrative duties related to hiring new staff, paying office bills and downloading billing information from vendors to charge back to individual departments. They work with managers to provide impromptu administrative support for urgent projects and customer requests.
Accounts Payable Specialist
Accounts payable specialists are key members of cross-functional finance teams. They are responsible for full cycle accounts payable (AP), general ledger (GL) coding and filing of hundreds of invoices every week for a handful of important accounts. They review all invoices to ensure compliance with documentation standards and internal policies. They approve invoices prior to payment and prepare analytical reports of accounts as required. Accounts payable specialists may only work perform specific tasks related to AP checks, wire transfers, journal entries, ACH payments or employee expense reports. They reconcile vendor statements and corresponds with vendors to problem solve and answers questions. They must be comfortable working under pressure on multiple projects simultaneously to meet deadlines.
Finance Analyst
Finance analysts are responsible for various accounting functions related to proposal reviews, cost estimation and financial data analysis. They work in a professional team environment to review complex financial data received from staff. They perform financial and proposal analysis of project quotes and cost estimations. They maintain documentation that supports financial estimates used during the bidding and the proposal processes. Finance analysts synthesize and evaluate large quantities of accounting data to create and share useful information to management. They do this to ensure that management understands bidding issues and estimating risks. They are usually asked to ensure compliance with internal procedures and government regulations.
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The different types of accounting jobs in a business also include fiscal coordinators, who prepare and post journal entries, and account auditors, who monitor and review account activities. Graduates with an accounting degree can also become assistant comptrollers, accounting managers and bookkeeping specialists.